The postvote reaction at the Shelby County Commission was interesting.
Republicans Mike Ritz and Wyatt Bunker both had an opportunity to block Joe Ford from becoming county mayor and send the process to a second round -- thus bringing forward outside candidates -- but they chose not to. Ritz [...]
The Shelby County Commission has appointed Joe Ford as the interim county mayor, to finish out the final year of A C Wharton's final term. Wharton resigned Oct. 26 to become Memphis mayor, and Ford will take office Dec. 10, the final day of office for acting mayor [...]
The Shelby County Commission is about to begin the first round of voting. The nominees are all the commission's own -- Joe Ford, J.W. Gibson II and acting mayor Joyce Avery.
Criminal Court Clerk Otis Higgs is not part of this round, but it is unlikely that any of [...]
Criminal Court judge Otis Higgs gave an impressive speech before the Shelby County Commission, applying to be appointed to finish out the final year of former Shelby County mayor A C Wharton's final term.
Higgs, 72, went through the long list of ways he has served the county and [...]
There has been a 10-minute delay at the Shelby County Commission as they await the arrival of a few more members to vote for Shelby County mayor. Commission Chairman Sidney Chism told The Commercial Appeal that he does not believe the meeting will last more than 30 minutes, [...]
The County Commission is gathering now for vote on county mayor. Among those who arrived early are former City Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Carol Chumney, former City Councilman John Vergos of The Rendezvous, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, and Criminal Court Clerk Otis Higgs.
Chumney said "she's not at" [...]
Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs Jr. has turned in an application to become interim Shelby County Mayor.
So far, Higgs is the only new candidate to take the formal step of filling out an application for the appointment since the County Commission repeatedly deadlocked last week in votes [...]
One question raised by this vote to appoint a county mayor to finish the final year of A C Wharton's final term is whether the Shelby County Charter sufficiently deals with vacancies. The amended county charter says that if the county mayor's office becomes vacant, the Commission Chairman [...]
Speaking of the City of Memphis chief administrative officer job, County Commissioner and county mayoral candidate Joe Ford took a shot at Mike Carpenter, accusing him of staying on the body just long enough to obstruct Ford's bid. Inherent in that attack is Ford's belief that Carpenter, who is [...]
Reached on Monday, City of Memphis chief administrative officer Jack Sammons was in Ponte Vedre, Fla., to visit with PGA Tour officials about Memphis's event, the St. Jude Classic. Sammons is chairman of Youth Programs, Inc., the board which is running the tournament again after Stanford Financial's collapse, and [...]
Our story previewing this afteroon's vote on the interim county mayor by the Shelby County Commission floats two new names as possible compromise candidates -- Criminal Court Judge Otis Higgs and former City Councilman Jack Sammons, the current chief administrative officer of the city. Former City Councilman John [...]
Our story previewing this afteroon's vote on the interim county mayor by the Shelby County Commission floats two new names as possible compromise candidates -- Criminal Court Judge Otis Higgs and former City Councilman Jack Sammons, the current chief administrative officer of the city. Former City Councilman John [...]
The Shelby County Commission, after 24 rounds of voting, moved to postpone voting for county mayor to next Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
The two strongest candidates, Democrats J.W. Gibson and Joe Ford, continued to receive five votes each, two shy of the seven needed to be installed as interim [...]
After nine more rounds of voting and the nomination of Shelby County chief administrative officer Jim Huntzicker failed to change anything -- J.W. Gibson still two votes short at five votes, Joe Ford still two votes short at five votes -- the County Commission voted to take a recess [...]
The Shelby County Commission has just voted to take a five-minute recess and push voting for an interim county mayor to the end of the agenda. There are only a few items left on the agenda. After nine rounds of voting, Commissioner J.W. Gibson has five votes and [...]
After three rounds of voting, there is a deadlock, with Joyce Avery eliminated. Joe Ford has five votes (Democrats Steve Mulroy, Matt Kuhn and Sidney Chism and Republicans Mike Ritz and Wyatt Bunker) and J.W. Gibson has five votes (Democrats Deidre Malone, James Harvey and Henri Brooks and Republicans [...]
County Commissioners Deidre Malone and Mike Ritz are proposing a motion to give acting mayor Joyce Avery the full 45 days allowed by the County Charter, which would keep her as mayor until early December.
Steve Mulroy has objected, pointing out that the acting mayor is charged with being a [...]
Item No. 21 on the Shelby County Commission today reads as follows: Resolution electing an Interim County Mayor for Shelby County. Sponsored by Commissioner Mike Ritz. It's not exactly direct democracy, but the county charter does call for the commission to select an interim replacement in the event the [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton stopped euthanasia at the Memphis Animal Shelter on Wednesday after shelter employees killed a dog without following shelter procedures, according to sources familiar with the shelter.
The improper euthanasia of the dog and Wharton's decree come eight days after authorities, responding to reports of [...]
The story in today's paper about the Memphis Police Department possibly preparing to ask for more city funds after receiving "only" $6.3 million in federal stimulus money to hire 37 new officers brings up some larger issues when it comes to the federal government's involvement in [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton's latest appointments are earning slightly more than the previous administration's.
City Hall reporter Amos Maki has just received a list of new employee salaries from the city's human resources department, showing Wharton's chief of staff, Robert White, is earning $101.500. White is also doubling' [...]
It's often easily forgotten that the problems facing metropolitan mayors today have been with cities for longer than those mayors have been alive. Doing some research while preparing for last week's transfer of power to new Memphis Mayor A C Wharton provided some perspective on Memphis's problems, none moreso' [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton's transition team met for about two hours this afternoon.
And while transition team co-chair Mike Carpenter, a county commissioner, said there was no major news out of the meeting, a new subcommittee has been officially added to the roster.
A Capital Improvement Projects committee [...]
Two new candidates have tossed their name in the ring for interim Shelby County Mayor.
Collierville businessman Anthony Tate has expressed interest in serving out the remaining 11 months of A C Wharton's term. Commissioner George Flinn, a radiologist and local media mogul, has also announced his intention to [...]
In her first week in office, acting Shelby County Mayor Joyce Avery met with constituents and held briefing sessions with directors and key personnel at the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Division of Corrections, Support Services and Road and Bridges.
That's according to a press release issued by her [...]
In a mostly quiet first week as Memphis mayor in which critics of A C Wharton could have pounced on what appears to be a methodical and less-than-bold beginning, the new administration instead is receiving gifts from former mayor Willie Herenton.
On Tuesday, Wharton's first full day in office, he [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton is living up to his reputation as a leader by committee.
The Mayor -- who some have playfully referred to as "Appoint Committee Wharton" -- has pulled together a task force to address the recent woes at the City of Memphis Animal Shelter. [...]
After City Council attorney Allan Wade left a meeting with the grand jury this morning, he told reporters huddled in the plaza that his testimony centered around an article published by The Commercial Appeal in January.
The article, written by investigative reporter Marc Perrusquia, revealed [...]
Former City Attorney Elbert Jefferson and his attorney, Ted Hansom, were spotted around 11:15 a.m. today leaving the Clifford Davis Federal Building on Front St.
Jefferson spent more than an hour with the federal grand jury this morning, producing "documents, records, whatever he had" related to [...]
Former city attorney Elbert Jefferson has arrived at the Clifford Davis Federal Building Downtown and entered the grand jury room about 9:40 this morning. He was accompanied this morning by his attorney Ted Hansom.
City Council attorney Allan Wade was also spotted this morning at the federal building, sitting in [...]
It should be an interesting day for the grand jurors meeting again today at the Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building, just down the street from City Hall.
As Commercial Appeal award-winning investigative reporter Marc Perrusquia tells us in this morning's newspaper, "When former Memphis city attorney Elbert Jefferson appears'" [...]
Former Memphis Mayor and 9th Congressional District candidate Willie Herenton believes politics are behind a recent letter he received from the FBI, informing him that he's the target of an ongoing criminal investigation.
In a letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder, Herenton said the target letter he [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton is already putting his Washington, D.C. connections to use.
As reported by Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan, Wharton was in the nation's capital today discussing The Regional Medical Center at Memphis and other regional issues with the White House liaison to big-city mayors.
Wharton [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton's administration issued a press release today, unveiling the participants and names of his transition team's subcommittees.
"These subcommittees represent many of the priorities of my administration," Wharton said in the release. "The people leading and serving on these committees will lay the important groundwork" [...]
Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton has been informed that he's the target of a federal criminal probe and he's since blasted the target letter he received for being politically motivated.
But Memphis mayor A C Wharton - an attorney -- spoke to members of the broadcast media Tuesday [...]
Joyce Avery started her first full day as acting Shelby County mayor by attending the Multicultural Memphis Breakfast sponsored by Leadership Memphis, then met Health Department officials for a briefing, county spokeswoman Rhonda Turner said.
Avery will hear similar briefings from other departments during her tenure as acting [...]
Former Memphis mayoral candidate Carol Chumney issued a press release today with congratulations to interim Shelby County mayor Joyce Avery, the county's first female mayor. Chumney also declared that "breaking the glass ceiling here is a civil rights issue."
Chumney made women's rights a cornerstone of her mayoral campaign, [...]
Brought to you by Shelby County Government Reporter Daniel Connolly:
If you want to take a crack at being Shelby County mayor, now's the chance to apply.
The Shelby County Commission will interview candidates for the interim mayor's slot on Wednesday, Nov. 4, then vote on Nov. 9. If commissioners deadlock, [...]
As Shelby County Government's interim mayor Joyce Avery settles into her new but temporary role, she'll have a team of government veterans on her side.
On Monday, Avery unveiled her advisory committee made up of former county commissioners Charlie Perkins, Ed Williams and Cleo Kirk; former city councilman Brent' [...]
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton may have been joking about cleaning up City Hall with a broom, but on his first day in office he's already landed his first clean-up job.
As reported by CA writer Hank Dudding, Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies raided the Memphis Animal Shelter this [...]
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton's resignation may have spurred dramatic change in both city and county governments, but now the five-term mayor is staying out of the spotlight.
Ally Sidney Chism, a county commissioner doubling as Herenton's campaign manager in the Ninth Congressional District race, said Herenton is taking the [...]
One thing often lost during a political campaign for an executive office is whether a candidate has the skills to pry votes from legislators, because it does not matter if a mayor or president or governor has great ideas if that person cannot muster the votes.
Members of the City [...]
Depending on how his administration operates, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton could do worse than develop the image of a broom as the iconic symbol of his tenure. At Monday’s ceremony swearing in Joyce Avery as the acting county mayor, County Commissioner Steve Mulroy, representing his [...]
Calling all Ole Miss and Tennessee State alumni/fans. Our best research shows that A C Wharton, as a graduate of Tennessee State and with a law degree from Ole Miss, gives City Hall two more firsts at the same time.
Can we get a Hotty Toddy on that? We'll look' [...]
Joyce Avery will likely have only a total of 15 days in her new role as acting Shelby County mayor, now that the County Commission has set a Nov. 9 date to appoint an interim mayor who would serve until Sept. 1 of next year.
The vote today [...]
There is no shortage of people who say they want to help Mayor AC Wharton implement his vision of city government at City Hall.
Moments after Wharton was sworn in, police director Larry Godwin, who had most of his high-ranking command staff along with him, said he looked forward [...]
Moments before A C Wharton was sworn in as Memphis mayor, Myron Lowery was standing outside City Hall waiting for him to arrive. Workers came up to Lowery with some city business. "Let A C do it," Lowery replied.
As City Council chairman, Lowery automatically became Memphis mayor pro [...]
Joyce Avery was sworn in this morning as Shelby County mayor, becoming the first woman ever to hold the mayor's title in Memphis or the county. But her time as acting mayor could be much shorter than the maximum 45 days allowed.
As soon as this afternoon's meeting, [...]
At 12:04 p.m., A C Wharton completed the oath of office for mayor of the City of Memphis as administered by retired Circuit Court judge George Brown, who told his old friend, "Congratulations."
The packed Hall of Mayors at City Hall erupted in cheers and applause.
Wharton gave a speech [...]
At three minutes before noon, A C Wharton made his entrance into the Hall of Mayors, and a steady growing applause built as he made his way to the front of the room.
The fire marshal, who was on his cell phone, seemed to be looking around the room [...]
And if you thought County Commission chambers were crowded, it does not compare to the gathering at the Hall of Mayors at City Hall. If this were a championship boxing fight, it would take 15 minutes just to bring up all the dignitaries and current, former and elected officials.
Conspicuous [...]
Now acting county mayor Joyce Avery included the members of what she called an advisory team in the swearing-in ceremony.
They are: former county commissioners Charlie Perkins, Ed Williams and Cleo Kirk; former city councilman Brent Taylor; Tennessee Republican Party executive committee member Layne Provine; and businessman and former Memphis [...]
City Hall staff and members of mayor-elect AC Wharton's team are putting the finishing touches on the Hall of Mayors at City Hall.
Wharton, who won a landslide victory in the Oct. 15 special election, has resigned as mayor of Shelby County and will be sworn in as mayor of [...]
County Commissioner Steve Mulroy represented his colleagues on the commission in thanking both just-resigned county mayor A C Wharton and newly-installed acting county mayor Joyce Avery, and he also presented them with gifts.
To Wharton, Mulroy provided a brand new yellow kitchen broom, drawing howls of laughter.
"It was something I" [...]
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners auditorium is rarely as full and bustling as it is this morning, with elected officials everywhere and an energy level that is very high in anticipation of County Commission Chairwoman Joyce Avery taking the oath of office to take over as county mayor [...]
A C Wharton has handed in an official resignation letter to leave his post as Shelby County Mayor, spokeswoman Rhonda Turner said this morning.
A swearing-in ceremony for County Commission chairwoman Joyce Avery, who will take the role of acting mayor for up to 45 days, is scheduled [...]
Charles Crawford, the University of Memphis historian, also confirms the point that in the modern history of the city, Memphis has never had a newly-elected a mayor who combines the experience and undisputed popularity Wharton brings to office.
The experience: For years before becoming county mayor in 2002, Wharton [...]
Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton's transition team met for the first time collectively today and set a timetable for their work during the 90-day transition period.
Team co-chair Mike Carpenter, a county commissioner, said the 12-member transition team was divvied up into sub-committees that will scrutinize different departments at [...]
City Councilman Edmund Ford Jr. is the newest member of Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton's transition team.
At Wharton's invitation, Ford, a Memphis City Schools Algebra teacher, replaces City Councilman Jim Strickland, who resigned from the team to serve on the charter commission tasked with drafting a charter for [...]
Carol Chumney -- fresh off a Memphis mayoral loss to A C Wharton -- is fuming about The Commercial Appeal's coverage of The Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
The CA reported Thursday that The Med could pull the plug on its emergency room unless it is able to raise' [...]
A C Wharton plans to take the city mayor's oath at noon Monday, spokeswoman Rhonda Turner said. She said the location and other details would be released shortly.
Earlier that day, Wharton is expected to turn in his resignation letter as Shelby County mayor to County Commission Chairwoman Joyce Avery. [...]
As expected, the Shelby County Election Commission voted this afternoon to certify the results of the Oct. 15 special election. The way is now clear for County Mayor A C Wharton to be sworn in Monday as mayor of Memphis.
The board approved the measure by a vote of 5-0 [...]
With transition conversation focusing mostly, at this point, on personnel, Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton isn't saying who in Shelby County Government will move with him across the street.
But the two-term county mayor did reveal that some will follow.
"There will be some," he said earlier this week. "My'" [...]
While recent talk has focused on A C Wharton's pick for chief administrative officer, there's also the lingering question about whether he'll replace the police director.
Wharton could choose to keep Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin or he could conduct a national search for a new leader -- a' [...]
Mayor-elect A C Wharton has continued to stress the focus he will continue to aim at preventing Memphis's only public hospital, The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, from going under. In the final debate of the campaign, he answered a question about why he wanted to leave his post as [...]
Even though he takes office in less than a week, Memphis Mayor-elect A C Wharton said he’s still on the hunt for a chief administrative officer.
And while some of his top appointees and advisors will follow him from Shelby County Government, Wharton said he and his transition team [...]
In his first public speech since winning the Memphis mayor’s election in a landslide, A C Wharton reassured the Memphis Rotary Club today that the city was headed in the right direction.
“We’re going to pull this city out of the doldrums,” Wharton told Rotarians gathered for a luncheon [...]
Looks like Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery’s team will be leaving City Hall when he does. Lowery told CA reporter Daniel Connolly on Monday that his deputy city attorney, Veronica Coleman-Davis, won’t be around much longer.
The former U.S. attorney’s last day is Friday.
Lowery reiterated that all the [...]
While lawyers contributed significantly to A C Wharton’s Memphis mayoral campaign, records show that his transition team did not significantly pad the campaign war chest.
Recent campaign finance filings reveal that of the 13 members picked to help Wharton move smoothly across the street, only four donated to [...]
Now that Memphis Mayor Elect A C Wharton has announced his 13-member transition team, the team's next task is to ensure Wharton's smooth and productive move across the street.
Enter Shelby County Commissioner Mike Carpenter.
He is one of the transition team's co-chairs, along with Methodist Healthcare vice' [...]
An early sign that other politicians in town are indeed taking heed of Memphis mayor-elect A C Wharton's popularity comes in the form of a Facebook post, by Tennessee state representative G.A. Hardaway Sr.
In a plug for a Friday fundraiser, he begins by using Wharton's campaign theme: "ONE" [...]
A consensus has emerged among political observers: A C Wharton won a huge mandate in Memphis' special mayoral election on Thursday, taking 60-plus percent of the vote and tripling the vote totals of his nearest challenger. Tom Guleff, a local political junkie who was the engine' [...]
How is the rest of the state of Tennessee treating the landslide victory of Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton in the City of Memphis' special election Thursday?
The Tennesseean ran a long Q & A interview with the mayor-elect in its Sunday edition, with one of its pegs that Wharton' [...]
Mayor-elect A C Wharton and his closest advisors definitely believe the resounding victory in Thursday's special election represents a mandate for governing, but they face some massive challenges from the moment Wharton resigns as county mayor and becomes Memphis' mayor on Oct. 26 (next Monday). Nothing looms larger than' [...]
As mayor-elect A C Wharton described it to us in an interview Friday afternoon, his transition team will help focus on his top priorities and guide the strategy for making them come to fruition. He has tapped County Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Methodist/LeBonheur executive Cato Johnson to lead [...]
Memphis Mayor-Elect A C Wharton announced Friday that County Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Methodist Healthcare senior vice president Cato Johnson would help guide his new administration in its first 90 days.
Wharton will announce the rest of his transition team today on Facebook, but a name you may be hearing [...]
City Atty. Elbert Jefferson has left the building.
The embattled city attorney resigned Sunday night to Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery, who fired Jefferson just after he was sworn in. Jefferson, whose state ouster petition hearing was scheduled for today, also turned in his key card, keys to his city [...]
Memphis Mayor Elect A C Wharton provided an initial glimpse of his transition team today, announcing his selection of County Commissioner Mike Carpenter and Methodist Healthcare senior vice president Cato Johnson to help guide his new administration in its first 90 days.
In an afternoon interview with staff reporter [...]
As Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton prepares to become city mayor, legislators on both sides of the street say Wharton will have to get used to a more challenging and more cut throat political landscape.
Just as Mayor Willie Herenton was known as a lightning rod - both [...]
The day after a mayoral election ushering significant changes to Memphis politics, it’s business as usual at City Hall.
The building still smells like Chinese food thanks to the city’s only in-house food vendor, Royal Jasmine Chinese Restaurant, and employees still showed up for work, even though many were [...]
It was two years ago when the winner in the City of Memphis's mayoral election delivered a combative victory speech aiming bitter, divisive rhetoric at the "haters." Willie Herenton's speech, of course, had the desired effect of raising the blood pressure of his enemies and drawing comments [...]
Former mayoral candidate Carol Chumney doesn’t appear to be adopting the role of gracious loser.
Chumney, who lost to A C Wharton with a third-place finish and 10 percent of the vote, told WKNO-FM Radio that she’s skeptical of Wharton’s sincerity.
“While I was out there fighting for [...]
Did A C Wharton win a mandate? That's the question that will be bandied about for some time, possibly until the 2011 municipal election. Former county commissioner Julian Bolton, Wharton's campaign manager, believes the numbers back up a huge mandate -- it's the third straight election Wharton has won [...]
Much is being made of the "low" turnout, but in fact more people voted in Thursday's City of Memphis special election than voted in the 2003 municipal election, when there was a full ballot that included some heated City Council races where candidates spent lots of money (not least' [...]
With 227 of 227 precincts reporting:
Candidate / Votes
A C Wharton / 65,491
Myron Lowery / 19,625
Carol Chumney / 10,857
Charles Carpenter / 5,181
Leo Awgowhat / 54
Randy L. Cagle / 29
Dewey Clark / 40
James "Malcom" Clingan / 27
A Willis Menelik Fombi / 36
Wanda Halbert / 372
Johnny Hatcher Jr. / 33
Robert "Prince Mongo" [...]
Fresh off an election win to the Memphis mayor's slot, A C Wharton is already making plans to shake up the troubled city attorney's office.
On Friday, his office will release a list of lawyers who will go to the city attorney's office and "evaluate the shop and the" [...]
The band keeps playing as Wharton works the room, shaking hands, giving hugs and kisses and posing for pictures. The crowd is so enthusiastic that he can barely make it through the throng. Large men in dark suits and wearing earpieces have cleared the path back to the big [...]
After Wharton's speech, Emily Shipman-Lennon was bouncing her 10-month old son Ilan to the music. ("Celebration" again, by Kool and the Gang, this time by a live band on stage.)
"It's motivating and inspiring and pushes us to be better contributors to the city of Memphis and be" [...]
Wharton just delivered a stirring call to optimism and unity to fight the big issues facing the city, from crime to shoddy education.
He repeatedly used the metaphor of sunshine breaking through the clouds and cited the city's big accomplishments, from FedEx to St. Jude Childrens's Research Hospital.
"Let me" [...]
As of 9:21 p.m., here are the vote totals, with early voting numbers and 127 of 227 precincts reporting:
Wharton, 50,975
Lowery, 13,619
Chumney, 7,851
Carpenter, 4,235
Lawler, 2,686
Whalum, 1,527
[...]Wharton is now on stage thanking family and friends. His voice sounds strained but happy.
"It's not about me. It's about our city," he says to applause.
A few minutes later, he thanks voters for creating "one Memphis."
"Because of the voters what was once a dream was once a" [...]
A C Wharton has taken the stage at his Election Day party and is declaring victory. More details to come.
[...]A C Wharton's wife, Ruby Wharton, and one of his sons, Andre Wharton, are now on stage, about to introduce the man who appears to have won the race.
"Look at this crowd, ladies and gentlemen. This represents unity!" Andre Wharton said to applause.
A moment later, he said of [...]
Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery just conceded the election to A C Wharton and said he's headed to Minglewood Hall to congratulate him in person.
"I offer my congratulations to the county mayor, who will become our city mayor for the next two years," Lowery told a small crowd [...]
As of 8:50 p.m., here are the vote totals, with early voting numbers and 70 of 227 precincts reporting:
Wharton, 40,223
Lowery, 9,949
Chumney, 6,121
Carpenter, 3,522
Lawler, 1,851
Whalum, 1,115
[...]Now several leaders of Wharton's campaign organizers take the stage and continue the multiethnic theme.
"Together, si, se puede," says Jose Velazquez, a native of Puerto Rico and former head of social service group Latino Memphis. "Together, we can."
He's joined by speakers including Darrell Cobbins, a Memphis Light, Gas [...]
Zack McMillin, Amos Maki, Alex Doniach, Daniel Connolly, Michael Erskine
